The coronavirus pandemic has hit many Swiss emigrants hard. An increasing number feel compelled to return to Switzerland. Lotti Pfyl is among them. “This is the lowest financial point of my life,” says 60-year-old Lotti Pfyl. She has made up her mind. She is giving up her life as a Swiss woman abroad. She is returning home from Germany in February 2021. “I had to admit to myself in the last months that I haven’t made it work.” In the past five years, an average of around 25,000 Swiss returned from abroad annually, according to the Federal Statistical Office. For 2020, there are no figures yet. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) reported in May that its offices abroad, its helpline and the Basel Office of Economy and Labour had received an increasing number of requests from Swiss emigrants who wanted to return home. Most Swiss abroad come back without the consulate’s help, as will be the case for Lotti Pfyl. Earlier than planned Her original idea was to set up an...
